A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back

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Manufacturer: Kevin Hazzard
Brand: Autobiography
Brew: Hardback
Steeping Time: 288 pages
Tea Service: Personal Choice
Strength:

Synopsis: A former paramedic’s visceral, poignant, and mordantly funny account of a decade spent on Atlanta’s mean streets saving lives and connecting with the drama and occasional beauty that lies inside catastrophe.

In the aftermath of 9/11 Kevin Hazzard felt that something was missing from his life—his days were too safe, too routine. A failed salesman turned local reporter, he wanted to test himself, see how he might respond to pressure and danger. He signed up for emergency medical training and became, at age twenty-six, a newly minted EMT running calls in the worst sections of Atlanta. His life entered a different realm—one of blood, violence, and amazing grace.

Thoroughly intimidated at first and frequently terrified, he experienced on a nightly basis the adrenaline rush of walking into chaos. But in his downtime, Kevin reflected on how people’s facades drop away when catastrophe strikes. As his hours on the job piled up, he realized he was beginning to see into the truth of things. There is no pretense five beats into a chest compression, or in an alley next to a crack den, or on a dimly lit highway where cars have collided. Eventually, what had at first seemed impossible happened: Kevin acquired mastery. And in the process he was able to discern the professional differences between his freewheeling peers, what marked each—as he termed them—as “a tourist,” “true believer,” or “killer.”

Combining indelible scenes that remind us of life’s fragile beauty with laugh-out-loud moments that keep us smiling through the worst, A Thousand Naked Strangers is an absorbing read about one man’s journey of self-discovery—a trip that also teaches us about ourselves.

Beware: If you’re not ready to face your own mortality, this book may not be the pick for you.

A Thousand Naked Strangers is a raw look inside the life of an EMT. From training to the first day on the job and straight through to the last, this book was one hell of a ride. It was raw and haunting and beautiful, and I knew from the first sentence that this book would stick with me. I wasn’t wrong.

Kevin Hazzard is a wonderful writer. His words paint a picture so vivid that it’s as if I’m standing right there with him in these memories, watching everything unfold firsthand. Not only is his writing poignant, but it is also humorous and brings levity to some difficult moments.

A Thousand Naked Strangers is a stark reminder of just how fragile we are as human beings. The barrier between life and death is so thin, and it is easy to forget that as we go about our day-to-day lives. Granted, I don’t want to spend all of my time thinking about how thin it is, but it is good to be reminded every here and again. It reminds me to live, to enjoy my time here on this earth. To let go of anger and love fiercely because we never know when our last moments will be.

Not only did I take a deep look at my own life in terms of how I’m living it, am I happy, and so on, but I developed a much deeper appreciation for emergency service workers. They are overworked and underpaid. They’re out there saving lives every day and they don’t get nearly the thanks they deserve. So, thank you. To each and every one of you out there that have held this job, thank you. You are doing incredible work. I see you. I am beyond grateful to you.

I’m also slightly terrified of you, if I’m being honest.

I assumed that becoming an EMT would require years of schooling, teaching, and practice. I was terrifyingly corrected. If you went to class for just three hours a day, five days a week, you’d be a bonafide EMT in eight to ten weeks. WHAT? Most websites I glanced at (for certification in Texas, where I live) say you can complete your EMT training in six months to a year. Which honestly, still seems super fast for someone to learn all of the life-saving things they’d need to know.

You have to pass an exam at the end of said training, so that’s definitely a comfort. And perhaps this is another moment where we are undervaluing our emergency service workers. They do their jobs with a fraction of the training time that other medical professionals get. I don’t know. Maybe I’m making this bigger than it needs to be. It just feels so fast!! And then to be thrown right into the thick of it! Absolute bosses out there.

If you’re looking for an honest, genuine glimpse into the life of an EMT, A Thousand Naked Strangers is the book for you.

It’s an excellent read for lovers of memoirs, autobiographies, medical stories, true crime adjacent, and dark humor. It’s an open look at the one thing we all have in common. One day, we’ll all die. And I hope that when my time comes, I get a ‘true believer’ like Kevin Hazzard to usher me lovingly into the afterlife, all the while doing everything he can to keep me on this side of the light.

Have you read A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia